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Riyadh Witnesses Launch of 1st European Chamber of Commerce

The European Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia, led by Lorcan Tyrrell, will officially launch in Riyadh on Wednesday. SPA
The European Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia, led by Lorcan Tyrrell, will officially launch in Riyadh on Wednesday. SPA
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Riyadh Witnesses Launch of 1st European Chamber of Commerce

The European Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia, led by Lorcan Tyrrell, will officially launch in Riyadh on Wednesday. SPA
The European Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia, led by Lorcan Tyrrell, will officially launch in Riyadh on Wednesday. SPA

The European Chamber of Commerce in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (ECCKSA) will officially launch in Riyadh on Wednesday. The chamber aims to strengthen economic, investment, and trade ties between the European Union, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states.

Before the launch, ECCKSA Chairman Lorcan Tyrrell highlighted that the Chamber’s formation followed over a year of collaborative efforts with EU and Saudi officials.

Q: When will the work of the European-Saudi Chamber of Commerce officially begin? Is there a specific commercial, investment or economic project with which the Chamber’s work will be launched?
Work has been ongoing by the EU Delegation and Founding Group Members for over 12 months. Following a very proactive dialogue with European and Saudi Government Officials, we are now in a position to open our organization to Members. Our Founding Group Members have been volunteering in their capacity to see us reach this part of the journey and are now transitioned to the First Board of the First European Chamber of Commerce in GCC.
There are emerging priorities that we may focus on in our sectoral committees. However, there is a unique opportunity for our new members to shape the voice and priorities of the Chamber of Commerce with Governements and Policy makers in both KSA and Europe. Two areas of focus just at the moment include the Green Transition Programme to help utilize best sustainability processes and green energy solutions as well as Women in Leadership which are active programmes within the EU-GCC dialogue.
Q: What facilities will the chamber provide to the business sector on both sides?
We will focus on three key priorities. Our primary focus will be on business positioning. Highlighting the key priorities for policy makers to focus on through position papers for example. This will be supported through advocacy and working group engagement with Ministries and Enterprise Agencies. Our secondary focus shall be around facilitating members to join the Chamber and to provide events for networking and publications to support the members businesses. All of this will then be supported through our tertiary priority which is to link back to EU and KSA to remove barriers to accessing the market. This may for example include helpdesks to help companies navigate the right channels to doing business in Saudi.
It should be highlighted as part of these priorities that we will also be opening bi-lateral communications into Europe for Saudi businesses to share their knowledge in services and goods and grow the trade channel in both directions.
Q: What are the most prominent challenges that the Chamber will work to find solutions for? 
Facilitate dialogue between the stakeholders that have enabled this initiative and the Members / Businesses that will join.
Seek opportunities to increase localization and for Saudi businesses to prosper through European Businesses being present in KSA.
Remove existing obstacles to trade in areas that our members currently experience and share good innovative solutions that businesses have found to be positive.
Q: Will the Chamber have any role in launching a free trade zone in the region?
This is not something that we are currently involved in. We will meet the various Ministries of Government to ensure we listen and prioritize key initiatives. This will be reflected through our Members and the European Government.
Q: What are your expectations for an increase in the growth rate of trade and investment during the year 2024?
We expect that a European Chamber of Commerce will focus on the sectoral opportunities within KSA. So for example if we look at Energy we will focus on how we can join the Energy and Utilities sector together with a unified voice and increase opportunities to prosper and trade more. This is equally the case on how KSA is perhaps in a position to export energy solutions to Europe that are not part of the oil industry such as green hydrogen fuels.
 

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Business

IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies (EME) to enhance cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki, SPA reported.

The agreement aims to strengthen coordination in economic and financial policy areas, including surveillance and lending activities, data and analytical exchange, capacity building, and the provision of technical assistance, in support of regional financial and economic stability.

Both sides affirmed that the MoU represents an important step toward deepening their strategic partnership and strengthening the regional financial safety net, serving member countries and enhancing their ability to address economic challenges.

Business

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced the formation of the first joint Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council for its inaugural term (1447–1451 AH) and the election of Salman bin Hassan Al-Oqayel as its chairman.

Al-Oqayel said the council’s formation marks a pivotal milestone in economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, reflecting a practical approach to enabling the business sectors in both countries to capitalize on promising investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade and investment partnerships, SPA reported.

He noted that trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reached approximately SAR9.5 billion by the end of November 2025, including SAR8 billion in Saudi exports and SAR1.5 billion in Kuwaiti imports.

Business

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.